CHAPTER XIII. ROMAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES COINS-COMPUTATION OF MONEY INTEREST OF MONEY. I. WEIGHTS. As.-The unit of weight was the As or LIBRA, which occupied the same position in the Roman system as the POUND does in our own. According to the most accurate researches, the As was equal to about 11 oz. avoirdupois, or 7375 of an avoirdupois pound. Divisions and Multiples of the As.-The As was divided into 12 equal parts called Unciae, and the Uncia was divided into 24 equal parts called Scrupula, the Scrupulum being thus the part of the As. The following nomenclature was adopted to distinguish various multiples of the As, Uncia, and Scrupulum:— The Drachma and the Obolus, which were properly Greek weights, are occasionally employed by Roman writers The term As, and the words which denote its divisions, were not confined to weight alone, but were applied to measures of length and capacity also, and in general to any object which could be regarded as consisting of 12 equal parts. Thus they were commonly used to denote the shares into which an inheritance was divided. When an individual inherited the whole property of another, he was designated as Heres ex asse; if one-half, Heres ex semisse; if one-third, Heres ex triente, &c.; Cicero will supply (Pro Caecin. 6) an excellent example-Testamento facto mulier moritur. Facit heredem ex deunce et semuncia Caecinam, ex duabus sextulis M. Fulcinium libertum superioris viri, Aebutio sextulam adspergit. The account stands thus Caecina inherited 11 Unciae and a Semuncia, 11 Unciae. Fulcinius Æbutius 1 Sextula,... Making up in all 12 Unciae,........... whole inheritance. Pes. II. MEASURES OF LENGTH. -The unit of lineal measure was the PES, which occupied the same place in the Roman system as the Foor does in our own. According to the most accurate researches, the Pes was equal to about 11.64 inches imperial measure, or 97 of an English foot. The Pes being supposed to represent the length of the foot in a well proportioned man, various divisions and multiples of the Pes were named after standards derived from the human frame. Thus Pes,......... ......... Sesquipes, = 16 Digiti,.... i.e., Finger-breadths. Si.e., Length from elbow to extremity The Pes was also divided into 12 Pollices, i.e., thumb-jointlengths, otherwise called Unciae (whence our word inch). When the division of the Pes into Unciae was adopted, then the different divisions of the Pes from one Uncia up to twelve were designated by the names given in the preceding section for the divisions of the As, viz., the Deunx, Dextans, &c. The measures longer than the Pes, in common use, were,— There was also a Palmus maior = 3 Palmi = 12 Digiti=9 Pollices or Unciae. The English statute mile = 1760 yards = 5280 English feet, and The Roman mile = 5000 Roman feet 4850 English feet, ... Therefore the Roman mile is shorter than the English mile by 430 English feet, or 144 yards nearly. Ulna, the Greek dan, from which the English word Ell is derived, varied in signification when used to indicate a measure. Sometimes it represents the distance from the shoulder to the wrist, sometimes from the shoulder to the extremity of the middle finger, sometimes it is regarded as synonymous with Cubitus. In applying the divisions of the As to measures of length, the Pes was regarded as the As and the Pollex as the Uncia. Hence we read in Columella (iii., 13.) DUPONDIO ET DODRANTE altus sulcus, i.e., a ditch 2 feet 9 inches deep; and again (vi., 19.)— Habet in latitudinem pars prior DUPONDIUM SEMISSEM, i.e., is two feet and a-half broad. III. MEASURES OF SURFACE.. We have seen above that the lineal Actus, which was the normal length of a furrow, was 120 Roman feet; the Actus Quadratus was a square, whose side was a lineal Actus; a Iugerum consisted of two Actus put together, and was therefore a rectangular plot of ground 240 Roman feet long and 120 Roman feet broad. Reducing Roman feet to English feet, it will be found that the Iugerum contains 27097.92 square feet English, while the English acre contains 43560 square feet; hence the Roman Iugerum was less than of an English acre. Less frequently mentioned than the Iugerum are-the Heredium = 2 Iugera; the Centuria 100 Heredia = = 200 Iugera; and the Saltus 4 Centuriae = = =800 Iugera. In applying the divisions of the As to measures of surface, the Iugerum was regarded as the As, and fractions of the Iugerum were represented by the subdivisions of the As. Hence we meet with such expression as the following (Liv. v., 24.)-Triumviri ad id creati TERNA IUGERA ET SEPTUNCES viritim diviserunt, i.e., assigned to each individual seven Jugers and of a Juger. IV. MEASURES OF CAPACITY. The unit of capacity was the AMPHORA or QUADRANTAL, which contained a cubic foot, and therefore, according to the computation of the Roman foot given above, must have been equal to 5.687 imperial gallons, or 5 gallons 2 quarts 1 pint 2 gills nearly. The Amphora was the unit for both liquid and dry measures, but the latter were generally referred to the Modius, which contained one-third of an Amphora, that is, 1·896 imperial gallons, or •948 of an imperial peck. This being premised, we may enumerate the divisions of the Amphora and the Modius. The Culeus was equal to 20 Amphorae. In applying the divisions of the As to the above liquid measures, the Sextarius was regarded as the As, and the Cyathus as the Uncia; hence we read in Martial (xi., 37)— Quincunces et sex cyathos bessemque bibamus Caius ut fiat, Iulius et Proculus. i. e., let us drink five, and six, and eight Cyathi, i. e., 19 Cyathi, 19 being the number of letters in the name Caius Iulius Proculus. From Congius is derived the word Congiarium, which properly signifies a vessel holding a Congius, but was frequently employed, especially in later times, to denote a gratuity of wine or oil bestowed upon the people at large; e. g., Lucullus millia cadûm IN CONGIARIUM divisit amplius centum. V. COINS. The early circulating medium of the Romans consisted of lumps or ingots of copper (Aes), which were weighed, and not counted, the name of an ingot being Stipes or Stips, whence Stipendium. According to Pliny, copper money was first coined by Servius Tullius, and stamped with the figure of a sheep (nota pecudum), but it is very doubtful whether any such pieces were ever minted at Rome. The metals employed by the Romans in their coinage were copper (Aes), silver (Argentum), and gold (Aurum), but these were not introduced all at once, but in succession. Copper Coinage of the Republic.-For nearly 500 years after the P foundation of the city, the Romans coined no metal except copper. If any gold or silver pieces were in circulation, they must have been of foreign stamp. The ordinary copper coins of the Republic were six in number, each being distinguished by a particular device, which is preserved with almost perfect uniformity. The names of these coins were— The device on the reverse is the same in all, being a rude representation of the prow of a ship. On the As we find the numeral I, on the Semis the letter S, while on the rest round dots indicate the number of Unciae; thus the Triens is marked, oooo, the Quadrans ooo, the Sextans oo, the Uncia o. Many of them have the word ROMA, and it gradually became common for the magistrate under whose inspection they were struck, to add his name. Weight of the As at different periods.—The As, regarded as a coin, originally weighed, as the name implies, one pound, and the smaller copper coins those fractions of the pound denoted by their names. By degrees, however, the weight of the As was greatly diminished. About the commencement of the first Punic War it had fallen from twelve ounces to two ounces; in the early part of the second Punic War (B.c. 217), it was reduced to one ounce; and not long afterwards, by a Lex Papiria, it was fixed at half-anounce, which remained the standard ever after. We subjoin a series of cuts taken from existing specimens of the As and the smaller denominations. Copper Coinage of the Empire.-Upon the establishment of the imperial government under Augustus, the old As and its divisions ceased to be struck, and a new copper coinage was introduced, consisting 1. Of those pieces which are commonly called Imperial Large Brass, and which form a series extending from Augustus down to Postumus. They are generally about the size of an English penny, and they exhibit, for the most part, on the obverse, the head of the reigning Prince. We annex a cut of a large brass of Antoninus Pius, bearing upon one side the head of the Emperor, with the legend ANTONINUS AUGUSTUS PIUS, and on the reverse the figure of Æneas bearing off his father from Troy and leading his boy by |